Roulette Tips: Advice for Playing Online Roulette

While roulette is a game of chance with relatively simple gameplay, there are still many things you can do in order to make sure you have a good time while playing. Here are a selection of tips that are designed to make your online roulette play fun and exciting while also giving you the best odds possible.

Know Your Roulette Variants

While roulette is a fairly simple game, there are still a few different variations on the game that offer you different ways to play this classic casino game. For instance, most online gambling sites offer both American and European roulette, and choosing between these two games is an important choice. The European game has only one zero on the wheel rather than two while offering the same odds, making it the much better bet for the player.

Some online casinos offer other versions of roulette as well. If there are any special variations like mini-roulette, be sure you understand them and the odds they offer before you start playing. Some of these games might be a great deal, but others could be sucker bets that are best avoided.

Don't Rely on Betting Systems

If you read enough about roulette – or really any online gambling game – you'll be sure to run into someone that tells you they have a special betting system that is guaranteed to beat the house. They may use fancy-sounding terms or some complex math to attempt to show that betting on certain patterns of numbers or raising and lowering your bets at certain times will reverse the standard odds and give you a player edge.

Unfortunately, these betting systems don't really do anything to improve (or hurt) your odds of winning in roulette. The house edge on nearly all roulette bets is exactly the same, and no combination of these bets or bet sizes can change that house edge. On the other hand, you can use these systems to help determine what your short term results look like. Some systems will give you occasional big wins against a lot of small losses, while others will usually lock in a small profit with some risk of a big loss. Depending on your goals, a system might help you achieve them more often – just know that in the long run, your results won't be any different.

Understand the Gambler's Fallacy

Related to our last point, it's important to understand why simple systems based on changing your bet sizes won't overcome the house edge. For instance, take the Martingale system, in which players are to double their bets after every loss. Most players know that losing seven or eight even money bets in a row is pretty rare, so it seems like by doubling your bets, you should eventually win – recovering your losses and making a small profit.

Unfortunately, this line of reasoning is faulty. The gambler's fallacy is the belief that an outcome can be "due" if it hasn't occurred in a while: for instance, that red is due if the last six spins have all landed on black. Remember, the wheel doesn't have a memory of what spins have previously occurred, and every spin is independent of the ones that have come before it. That means that even if red has come up ten times in a row, red and black are still equally likely on the next spin!

Don't Mix Drinking and Gambling

There's nothing worse than waking up in the morning with no recollection of what you did last night. Actually, there's one thing that's worse: having that same morning, only to then find out that you lost a huge sum of money on online roulette games that you can't even remember playing!

Drinking and gambling simply don't mix well, especially if you're drinking heavily. Even in a game like roulette that doesn't use much strategy, playing drunk can lead to you betting way more than you're comfortable with – which is something you're likely to regret later on. Play it safe and save your real money online gambling for when you're sober.

Practice Money Management

If you want to play a lot of roulette without having to deposit again and again, you'll need to practice proper money management techniques. It's important to make small enough bets that simply losing a few spins won't threaten your entire bankroll. For instance, if you've made a deposit of $250, it doesn't make much sense to make $50 bets on every spin! Instead, betting $2 or $5 per spin will ensure that your money lasts for a long time.

Don't Look for Bias in Online Roulette

While it's a game of luck with a reasonably high house edge, some of the most famous gambling wins in history have come on roulette. This was made possible by players discovering biased wheels – wheels that are unbalanced and tend to come up with some results more often than others. After examining many wheels for thousands of spins, it's possible that a player can determine that some numbers will come up often enough to make a profit. If the casino doesn't realize this too, a player can make thousands – or even millions – before the casino catches on.

Unfortunately, such things aren't possible in online roulette. Since there are no physical parts, there can't be a problem with the weight of a wheel or an imperfection that is driving the ball towards certain pockets. Random number generators are constantly tested to ensure results that are both fair and random – meaning that you won't get ripped off, but you also can't find any patterns you can take advantage of.

Practice in Free Play Mode

Whether you're a roulette veteran or you're playing for the first time, it is definitely worth your time to check out the free play versions of online roulette before you play for real money. For new players, the reasons are obvious: you can become familiar with the inner workings of roulette before you try playing for real money.

However, there are other benefits to playing free play roulette, too. If you are deciding which online gambling site to play at, checking out each roulette game in free play mode will allow you to get the most information before making your decision. It's also good to understand all the quirks of the betting interface, just to make sure you don't make any mistakes when you place real money bets.

Take Advantage of Bonuses

One great reason to play online roulette instead of roulette at a live casino is the ability to get some great bonuses from internet gambling sites. These bonuses can add hundreds of dollars to your bankroll, allowing you to play more roulette without risking any additional money, while also giving you the chance to score some big wins using the casino's own cash.

But if you forget to take advantage of these bonuses, it's just like throwing your money away! Make sure that you look to see what bonuses you're eligible for when you sign up for a new casino site, as well as any time you plan to make a new deposit. Be sure that you're signing up for bonuses that can be cleared by playing roulette, and note any coupon or bonus codes you'll need to use in order to receive your bonus funds.

Once you've received the bonus, check the terms and conditions to ensure you do everything necessary to clear the bonus, such as meeting wagering requirements, completing those requirements before any deadlines, and avoiding any restricted games while using your bonus money.

Know the Odds

It's important to know how the odds work in roulette to ensure you're always making the best bets possible when you play. This is fairly easy in roulette, as most bets carry the same house edge, so most of the time, all bets will be equally good for you.

However, there are a few things you should keep in mind when it comes to roulette odds. If you have a choice between playing American or European roulette, pick the European game, as the house edge is much lower. If you are playing American roulette, be sure to avoid the "first five" bet that covers 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3, as that bet has a higher house edge than normal. Finally, if a European roulette table offers "en prison" rules, that will cut the house edge on even money bets like odd/even and red/black in half.

Have Fun!

Remember, roulette is a game that's first and foremost meant to be fun. While you can certainly win a lot of money while playing roulette, it's not a game of strategy like blackjack or poker; in the long run, you should expect the casino to come out slightly ahead.

That means that as a roulette player, your first goal should be to find the kind of bets that you enjoy making. Since the odds on most bets are the same, you won't be hurting your chances of winning no matter what wagers you choose. So sit back, find a way of playing that pleases you, and have fun!